Bolts From The Blue
The Los Angeles Chargers didn’t play this weekend on their bye, but that didn’t stop them from moving up a slot in the AFC playoff picture. The Buffalo Bills lost on Thursday night, moving Los Angeles ahead of them into the fifth seed. The Chargers and Bills are also tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars at 7-4 in the wild card race, but LA holds the tiebreaker.
The New England Patriots won again to secure the top spot in the conference for the week. The Denver Broncos were also on the bye and remain second. The Indianapolis Colts lost but remain third. The Baltimore Ravens won and vaulted the losing Pittsburgh Steelers into fourth.
Pittsburgh, the Houston Texans, and the Kansas City Chiefs are all tied at 6-5 and on the outside looking in for now.
The Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers were on the bye this week along with the Miami Dolphins.
In the three-way tie at 6-5, the Chiefs are eliminated first because of a worse AFC record than Pittsburgh and Houston. The Steelers wins have come against teams with 30 total wins while the Texans’ wins have come against teams with a combined 29 wins. That can change very quickly.
1. New England Patriots (10-2)
2. Denver Broncos (9-2)
3. Indianapolis Colts (8-3)
4. Baltimore Ravens (6-5, 2-0 AFCN)
5. Los Angeles Chargers (7-4, 6-2 AFC)
6. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-4, 4-2 AFC)
7. Buffalo Bills (7-4, 4-3 AFC)
8. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5, 5-2 AFC, SOV > HOU)
9. Houston Texans (6-5, 5-2 AFC, SOV < PIT)
10. Kansas City Chiefs (6-5, 3-4 AFC)
11. Miami Dolphins (4-7)
12. Cincinnati Bengals (3-8, win over CLE)
14. Cleveland Browns (3-8, loss to CIN)
13. Las Vegas Raiders (2-9)
15. New York Jets (2-9)
16. Tennessee Titans (1-10)
The Chargers and Broncos were on the bye, but the Kansas City Chiefs won to inch closer to a playoff spot. The Las Vegas Raiders were picked apart by the Cleveland Browns defense. Not that it’s a surprise, but the Raiders were eliminated from the AFC West race.
1. Denver Broncos (9-2)
2. Los Angeles Chargers (7-4)
3. Kansas City Chiefs (6-5)
4. Las Vegas Raiders (2-9)
